Patriots hand Texans 10th straight loss

The 2013 Texans are no match for the 2012 Texans, but this year’s historically awful team at least put up a better fight against Tom Brady and the Patriots.

But it still ended in a loss.

Ben Tate ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns, but Brady torched the Texans in the second half as the Patriots won 34-31 on Sunday at Reliant.

It was the franchise-worst 10th straight loss for the Texans (2-10).

“This season has been disappointing for everyone, a lot of frustration,” said Andre Johnson, who in the loss became the 15th player in NFL history with 900 career receptions. “We’re 2-10 now. Just have to deal with it and move on.”

The Texans face 3-9 Jacksonville on national television on Thursday night.

Stephen Gostkowski hit a 53-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter to tie it up and he made another 53-yarder with 3:15 left for the winner for the Patriots (9-3).

The Texans were 11-1 heading into the much-hyped Monday Night Football game last year at New England. But the Patriots won that game 42-14. The Texans are 4-14 since that 11-1 start, and that includes a 41-28 season-ending loss to the Patriots in last year’s playoffs.

On Sunday, though, the Texans were more competitive.

The Texans took a 17-7 lead at the half, but Brady was 18-of-23 for 263 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.

The Patriots had three touchdowns and two field goals in their five second-half possessions.

Texans quarterback Case Keenum was 15-of-30 for 272 yards and an interception.

For the season, Keenum is 103-of-190 for 1,433 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. Keenum’s QB rating of 86.1 is just behind Brady’s 87.9.

The Texans entered the afternoon with only two rushing touchdowns this season. Tate gave the Texans the early lead with an 8-yard run, capping a five-play, 52-yard drive with 8:44 to play in the first quarter.

With catches of 29 yards and 13 yards on consecutive Keenum throws, Johnson accounted for 42 of the 52 yards on the scoring drive. His second catch set up first-and-goal from the 8 to set up Tate’s first touchdown.

On the ensuing Patriots drive, cornerback Johnathan Joseph picked off Brady and returned the interception 31 yards to the 31-yard-line. The Texans struggled to move the ball, but Randy Bullock hit a 43-yard field goal to take a 10-0 lead with 4:10 to play in the first quarter.

The Patriots didn’t waste much time cutting the Texans’ lead to 10-7. Brady capped a 55-yard, six-play, 2:45 drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski with 1:25 to go in the first quarter.

After Gostkowski missed a 55-yard field goal attempt, the Texans took over at their own 45 and marched 55 yards over 3:03 to take a 17-7 lead. Tate capped the seven-play drive with a 20-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-1 with 1:47 to play in the first half.

The Patriots countered almost immediately in the second half, driving 78 yards on five plays over 2:19 to cut the Texans’ lead to 17-14.

Brady got most of the yards on a 51-yard pass to Gronkowski to put the ball at the Texans’ 13-yard-line. After Brady’s 12-yard pass to Shane Vereen, James Develin capped the drive with a tough, 1-yard touchdown run.

The Texans were unable to do much on their next possession. Brady wasn’t so forgiving, carving up the Texans’ defense on a seven-play, 73-yard drive that was capped when Vereen was wide open on the left side for a nine-yard touchdown catch and run to give the Patriots a 21-17 lead with 8:06 to play in the second quarter.

Keenum answered with an 81-yard, 10-play scoring drive, which he capped with a five-yard touchdown run to retake the lead 24-21 with 2:16 to play in the third quarter. Keenum got the drive going with passes of 28 yards and nine yards to Johnson.

After Tate ran for the first down, Keenum threw a 17-yard-pass to Garrett Graham for 1st-and-10 at the 25-yard-line. Tate took care of the next nine yards over two carries, and Keenum secured the next first down on a two-yard run to the 14.

Tate rushed for nine yards to the 5-yard-line and was stuffed for no gain on the next run, setting up Keenum’s touchdown run on third down.

Brady needed only 4:02 to regain the lead 28-24 with his own 81-yard touchdown drive, which running back LeGarrette Blount capped with a seven-yard touchdown run.

Keenum then hit a 66-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins, and just like that the Texans were back in business at the Patriots’ 19-yard-line Two plays later, Tate scampered into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown to cap the three-play drive that lasted only 1:34. The ensuing extra point gave the Texas a 31-28 lead with 11:35 to play.

Brady had to settle for a field goal on his next drive. Needing to make a stop on 3rd-and-13 from the Texans’ 35, strong safety Eddie Pleasant was in perfect position to deny Gronkowski a catch. The Patriots had to settle for a 53-yard field goal by Gostkowski to tie the score at 31-31.

Gostkowski added another 53-yard field goal with 3:15 to play, capping a 32-yard drive to put the Patriots ahead for good.